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Saw my first Whooping Crane today. Three mature mixed in with Great Egrets(or Common Egrets) in a fresh cut rice field. Location was off Hwy 165 east of Humnoke, Ar and just east of the area know as Two Bayou.Importance is that if you are in this area in search of the Ivory Billed then Humnoke is about 30 minutes south west of the Ivory Billed sighting area, important if you wish to log them to your list. Saw two bunches of Blue Winged Teal also today, makes me want to believe that the fall migration is under way. Happy birding!

congrats on a nice tick goat.You have all the best ones there including the Ivorybilled.Have a terrific Fall migration.
Sam

__________________
"The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists and other subversives.We intend to clean them out.Even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country."
John Mitchell
Attorney General
1969-1972

Receive a questionaire document from Arkansas Audubon today concerning this sighting. I intend to reply however I am in question myself because if these birds were not Whooping Cranes then what were they? They flew as Whoopers(back riding higher over head or legs) and were big enough to be Whoopers and ruling out Snow Goose or White Pelican is a no brainer. However the black demonstrated on their primaries did extend to their secondaries. Pictures and descriptions of Whoopers, that I have been able to find, do not show the secondaries as black. The secondaries were black. The crown was visibly a striking color. Any ideas that would assist me with a response to this questionaire? Please advise.

Receive a questionaire document from Arkansas Audubon today concerning this sighting. I intend to reply however I am in question myself because if these birds were not Whooping Cranes then what were they? They flew as Whoopers(back riding higher over head or legs) and were big enough to be Whoopers and ruling out Snow Goose or White Pelican is a no brainer. However the black demonstrated on their primaries did extend to their secondaries. Pictures and descriptions of Whoopers, that I have been able to find, do not show the secondaries as black. The secondaries were black. The crown was visibly a striking color. Any ideas that would assist me with a response to this questionaire? Please advise.

Just reply saying exactly what you saw

Cheers,

Dimitris.

P.S. If you are 100% that you saw white Cranes.Then there's nothing else they could possibly be but Whoopers.

O.K. I must apolozise to the forum. I reported Whooping Cranes in Arkansas. After further study and a letter from the Arkansas Audobon society I must retract my report. Arkansas Audobon informed me that Whooping Cranes have not been seen in Arkansas since 1914. Well, this drove me to research the archives and after that research the behavior and markings of the birds I observed point toward Wood Ibis. Wood Ibis is a bird now that I will never forget. In reference "In Search Of The Ivory Billed" Jerome A. Jackson as he quotes J. Dennis "No one wants to experience the kind of inquisition that awaits anyone who does not have incontrovertible proof of a sighting".
On the other hand in quote of Dr. Jackson (same reference page 245}"To be sure, most reports are in error".
The inquisition I am experiencing now is real, the amature that I am is acceptable to me, the prognosis that this inquisition will happen to me again is favorable. I will put my boots back on this weekend and search again and I will most likly report sightings that are not "incontrovertible" in the (hopefully distant)future and I hope you will forgive me again, I am but an amature bird watcher that enjoys this nitch maybe too much.

Goatnose,
Don't worry, we've all missed some ID's. At least you got good enough details to properly ID it once you were questioned. "Wood Ibis" is now "Wood Stork" to prevent any confusion to readers. Keep watching and keep reporting.